Hadrian's Wall (June 24-July 1)

A redeye on Thomas Cook Airlines from Boston Friday night got us to Manchester Airport around 5 am Saturday morning. Trains through the northern England countryside took us through Leeds and York to our destination, Newcastle-on-Tyne on the North Sea - home of Segedenum, the Roman fort at the east end of Hadrian's Wall, constructed at the behest of that Emperor between 122 and 127 A.D. with many alterations until the Romans abandoned the Wall and Great Britain in 410 A.D. Intended to protect the Roman south from the fierce Picts and Caledonians of Scotland, the Wall ran in nearly a straight line for 80 Roman miles from Segedenum to the fort at Bowness-0n-Solway, on the Irish Sea. Six to 10 feet thick and some 20 feet high, the Wall had 80 Milecastles (small forts manned by 20 or so soldiers) evenly spaced, with 158 turrets (watchtowers manned by 4 or so soldiers) at one-third of a mile increments between Milecastles. These were originally to be supported by the ten existing large Forts along the Stanegate, an east-west road a couple of miles south of the Wall, but while the Wall was under construction the Romans decided instead to add 16 Forts to the Wall, at intervals of roughly 7 miles. The Wall is the largest Roman ruin anywhere. While much of it has disappeared over the centuries at both ends, a long section in the rural middle is well-preserved.

After checking in at the Keelman's Lodge in Newburn, on Newcastle's west side, we took a bus east, intending to get off after 12 miles at Segedenum. Sad to say, sleep overcame both of us, sightseeing atop a double-decker, just before we got there, so we saw more of Newcastle's eastern suburbs than we would have liked. We still had ample time to explore the Segedenum fort remains and its museum before bussing back to Keelman's, a hearty dinner and a long night's sleep. Sunset in that northern clime was around 10 pm, so we rarely encountered darkness during our 16 days in England. The sun continued to shine Monday as we set off from Newburn along the banks of the River Tyne, soon meeting a septuagenarian life-long Newcastletonian who makes his living as an ecclesiastical architect - the first of many fascinating encounters with natives and some fellow visitors during our trip. At Heddon-on-Wall, five miles on, we encountered our first section of the Wall since Segedenum. After about 20 miles, we detoured 3 miles south to Corbridge, home of a major Stanegate fort that has been well preserved. We had time to explore it after checking into our B-and-B, followed by another hearty dinner, at the Black Bull Inn.

At the recommendation of our excellent Trailblazer guide to Hadrian's Wall Path, rather than retracing our steps to the Path Monday morning, we circled clockwise through Hexham, a substantial market town, and little Acomb back up to the Path at the site of the momentous 8th Century Battle of Heavenfield - a 12-mile detour bypassing five less than stellar miles of the Path. In Hexham, we toured the splendid Abbey, parts of which date from the 8th Century A.D., including a tour of its crypt, lined with Roman stones and once the home of saintly relics. We detoured a mile north of the Path to our B-and-B in remote Humsbaugh, a striking set of buildings not matched by the dinner fare, which was very good the other nights.

Tuesday morning brought rain in quantity, which continued until mid-afternoon. We were well-soaked by then but the respite providentially preceded the choicest bits of the Wall, including famous Sycamore Gap, seen in some movies. Our evening destination, Huntercrook Lodge, was a couple of miles south of the Path, but our gracious host picked us up at the Twice Brewed Inn, where we dried and refreshed ourselves, socializing with some fellow Americans we met often over the week. The Lodge is terrific, not least the food, and we were fortunate to spend two nights there. From it, Wednesday morning, we walked a mile over country lanes to Vindolanda, another Stanegate fort south of the Wall and the most impressive by far of the half-dozen fort/museums we visited. Its Museum includes a selection of the famous "Vindolanda tablets" - little postcards of sorts written on bits of bark by and to Roman soldiers before the Wall was built and miraculously preserved in a peat bog, where they were discovered 40 years ago. From there we took a bus to the Roman Military Museum, also fascinating, at the site of another Roman fort, not yet excavated,

Thursday brought us more rain and a wet hike to Lanercost Abbey, south of the Path. To our relief, adjacent Lanercost Bed and Breakfast boasted both a boot-drying device and an effective Drying Room. The setting, our rooms, the hospitality and the food all excelled. This was the best place we stayed during our 16 days in England. Our only fellow lodgers were a German politician, recently "retired" through losing an election, and his charming daughter, who had just graduated from Oxford.

Friday brought Carlisle, smaller than Newcastle but a substantial city. A major flood of the River Eden in 2015 destroyed long sections of the Path along that River, requiring some tedious detours on roads, and the last Wall remains ended a few miles to its east, but the Cathedral bells tolled appealingly and we had a wonderful Greek dinner at Alexandros restaurant.

Saturday took us away from Carlisle through some quaint villages to the Wall's east end at Bowness-on-Solway, where the Eden flows into the Irish Sea. Wallsend Guest House proved a most comfortable place to unwind after our walking over 90 miles over the week, and we celebrated with more hearty fare at the venerable King's Arms. I ate more lamb - on which I dote - during our 16 days than I usually get in a year. Sunday morning, we returned to Carlisle on route to Keswick and the start of our second trek, through the Lake District.